Learning Science and the LSAT – Part 2: Spaced Repetition
Learning science has come a long way in recent years, and we’ve been learning with it. On March 23rd, 2016, we’re launching a new kind of class that will revolutionize efficiency and efficacy in LSAT prep. Intrigued? Try it out for free.
Missed Part 1 of our Learning Science and the LSAT series? Read it here!
Here’s a weird—yet true—statement: You can’t really learn something until you’ve forgotten it.
Huh?
Think back to college (for many of you, that won’t be long!). There were probably a few tests that you crammed for. 12 straight hours; no sleep; NoDoz. And you passed. Congrats.
If I gave you that test again, what chances would you have of passing? If you’re like most people, the answer is: almost none.
There’s a lot of research into how our brains store and recall information. What they all boil down to is that information is stored based on how important it is, the context in which we learn it, and how frequently it’s recalled. And all this boils down to what we started with—you will forget pretty much everything you learn in life.
Back in 1885, Hermann Ebbinghaus (don’t worry, you’ll never remember his name) hypothesized a forgetting curve, based on how quickly people forgot information that they had ostensibly learned. An important corollary to the overall curve was that the speed with which you “lose it” changes based on how many times you’ve relearned the information.
Ebbinghaus’s work led to people coming up with ideal ways to learn material for long-term retention. Think people who want to learn a language; not people who want to learn a few key phrases for a vacation. What was found was that, no matter how hard you tried, you needed to go through a few rounds of learning, forgetting, and relearning for the information to be moved from short-term memory (the cram) into long-term memory (the retention, from reinforcing the neural connections).
There are a variety of proprietary programs out there through which to “properly” space these repetitions, but there’s also a lot of conflicting data in the studies as to what the ideal spacing is. There’s also a lack of consensus as to whether the interval matters at all, or whether it’s just important to space out the repetition. But almost everyone agrees that this isn’t a one- to two-week process—the spacing has to happen over longer periods than that.
So what does forgetting mean for LSAT prep? It means the normal method of learning a strategy for a question type, practicing it for a bit, and then moving on isn’t the best way to train yourself to handle that question on test day. Instead, it’s important to be exposed to the big ideas on the test, circle back to them several times, and view them in context when they come up (instead of in, say, a set of questions that’s been pre-assembled for you). Spaced repetition is of paramount importance, especially when you’re trying to learn a test that focuses on skills and strategies, not rote memorization.
We’ll be incorporating this and other recent discoveries in learning science in a brand new LSAT course that starts on March 23rd, 2016. Interested? Try it out for free.
Check out Part 3 of our Learning Science and the LSAT series right here. ?
Don’t forget that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person LSAT courses absolutely free. We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.
Matt Shinners is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in New York City. After receiving a degree in Biochemistry from Boston College, Matt scored a 180 on his LSAT and enrolled in Harvard Law School. There’s nothing that makes him happier than seeing his students receive the scores they want to get into the schools of their choice. Check out Matt’s upcoming LSAT courses here!